Afghan Man Fears for Family Safety After Data Breach Exposes Relatives to Taliban
An Afghan man, identified as Ahmad, who previously worked with British forces for nearly a decade, is living in West Yorkshire with his wife and children. However, he fears for the safety of his family members still in Afghanistan following a major data breach that exposed their personal details to the Taliban.
The 2022 Data Breach and its Impact
In July 2023, it emerged that a data breach in February 2022 accidentally leaked the personal details of approximately 19,000 people who had applied to come to the UK to escape the Taliban. The leak included names, contact details, and some family information, potentially placing them at increased risk.
Ahmad, who came to West Yorkshire in 2021, believes the Taliban now has access to "all the information" on his family members who remained in Afghanistan. He expressed deep concern, stating that their "futures went to zero within a week when the Taliban took over." He fears for their safety until his extended family can join him in the UK.
Personal Accounts of Taliban Violence
Ahmad shared harrowing accounts of the violence inflicted upon his family. He revealed that one of his brothers-in-law had been arrested and killed by the Taliban, while another was tortured to the point of "insanity." He said, "Once I saw the data breach, I understand why the Taliban has all the information about my family, why they were searching for each person I put on that list."
Government Response and Continued Concerns
Despite a statement from a Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesperson suggesting that being named in the leak was "highly unlikely" to increase the risk of targeting, Ahmad remains unconvinced. He wants the UK government to evacuate the rest of his family from Afghanistan, along with all others affected by the data breach.
Ahmad added that the situation is particularly "very critical" for females in Afghanistan, such as his sister, whose "hopes of being doctors, nurses, midwives and lawyers went to zero once the Taliban took control."
Advocacy Group Calls for Action
Sara De'Jong from the Sulha Alliance, an organization that supports Afghans who worked for the British Army, stated that the data breach had a "huge impact" on the lives of those affected. She emphasized the lack of transparency surrounding the breach, saying that "People found out years later." She called for the "interest of Afghans put front and centre" and urged the MoD to restore confidence in the system.
MoD Statement and Commitment to Resettlement
An MoD spokesperson stated: "We are committed to honouring the moral obligation we owe to those Afghans who stood with us and risked their lives, and we have brought nearly 36,000 individuals to safety under our Afghan resettlement schemes." They also stated that strict security checks are in place and that in some cases, individuals do not pass those checks. Furthermore, they cited the Rimmer Review which "concluded it is highly unlikely that merely being on the spreadsheet means an individual is more likely to be targeted."
